Dark Wings
by Dia-Rose-713
Summary: Darkness and light. Evil and good. Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. Two extremes which can’t be more different. What, if war reign between the white and the black side? No hope for two destinies in this world? HGDM oneshot


**Title**: Dark Wings

**Author**: DiamondOfOcean

**Beta**: TiaAgano and Maia

**Pairing**: Hermione Granger/ Draco Malfoy

**Genre**: Drama, Romance?

**Rating**: T

**Disclaimer**: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of Joanne Kathleen Rowling. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Summary**: Darkness and light. Evil and good. Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. Two extremes which can't be more different. What, if war reign between the white and the black side? No hope for two destinies in this world? HGDM one-shot

**About**: one-shot, much emotionality, indirect happy end, the lyric cuttings are taken from Within Temptation's "Mother Earth"

**Author's drivel**: This one-shot is re-posted! It was posted on the nickname _WhiteRoseOfDarkness_, but now only this nickname is responsible for my English fan fictions. On this new nickname I'll post new one-shots, shortly.

**Dark Wings**

"Crucio!"

Shock, immediately followed by a cruel wave of pain, shot through the body of the brown-haired young woman like a blazing fire. The curse, that had been directed towards her, tortured her endlessly. Her tormentor didn't seem to know any mercy.

As the curse had hit her, she had been thrown back by its force, while it let her feel the pain at instant. It felt like all her entrails were pierced by a knife, each bone was broken and each little piece of skin was on fire. She groaned in anguish. Her hand clenched into the cloth covering her left chest, where her heart was pounding much too fast.

But as the strength of the curse got more and more intense, she pressed both hands on her head; the pain in her heart forgotten at instant. Agony was the only thing left in her head. Again and again, she felt like her head would explode, if the pain didn't stop soon. She fell down onto the knees; her legs gave away under her.

The man kept continuing pointing his wand at her while he moved nearer to her again and grabbed her chin with his free hand to keep her upright. The former Gryffindor was pale, but nonetheless clenched her jaws firmly to prevent herself from crying. Her hair was in a mess; her pretty face a mask of agony; her breathing heavy and uncontrolled. At last she couldn't suppress her whimpers any more.

"Granger, Granger, Granger... You disappoint me. I didn't think that you'd sink on your knees in front of me so fast ... Really frustrating... People always talk about the courageous Gryffindors, but in reality Gryffindors always fail very fast. Makes it easier for me to kill you, but I would have enjoyed playing with you for a little while before that ... You spoil all my fun. Not very nice of you, is it?..."

"Sue... me... Malfoy..." Hermione hissed bravely. Her present situation actually didn't permit her to talk to Draco in that way, but she just couldn't hold back. She had a reputation for acting a little rash now and then, so why not arrange her end in that way?

She barely felt it. Noticed only vaguely how he slapped her face. By mistake she bit her lips, tasting a metallic flavour. Blood; her own without a doubt.

"Don't be so cheeky, Granger, that's not good for you. Or do you want your family having to bury a disfigured corpse? Not a beautiful last sight... Not to mention that you're face is too pretty to be struck by fists... well, at least for a mud blood..."

Hermione couldn't and didn't want to stop herself from spitting in front of Draco's feet and so she did. Therefore he punched her on the head, using something dull and indefinable. And then she saw it. Dark red blood, her blood, dripping onto the floor in front of her eyes. The rain washed it away, but it became more and more. Hermione mumbled something incomprehensible.

"Pardon?" Draco asked derisively, rising one of his eyebrows. "I'm afraid, you'll have to speak more clearly, if you want me to understand."

"That is not you, Draco, that is not you..." she gasped with her last ounce of strength.

x-x-x-x-x

_Why was I one of the chosen ones?_

_Until the fight I could not see_

_The magic and the strength_

_Of my power_

_It was beyond my wildest dreams_

x-x-x-x-x

The war raged around the two of them, who didn't directly participate. The final battle was almost over and Voldemort's side seemed near to triumph. But they hardly noticed the battle going, despite the loud sounds of fighting. Nevertheless Draco had heard each of Hermione's whispered words. They were entering his mind clearly: _That is not you, Draco, that is not you... _

It was easy to see how low her energy levels were, how little life was left in her body, but Hermione managed to straighten herself up. First she pressed her hands onto the ground to prop herself and then she rose up, with her knees trembling. Slowly, step for step, she moved closer to the blond man in front of her. He stepped back, keeping their distance, but after a moment he stopped. Who was he to back away from a Gryffindor, a woman?

So he didn't move until she stood directly in front of him. Her lips opened, words came out of her mouth, but he was able to understand the contents only a couple of seconds later. "Please... Draco... That is not your true self. .. Just look around you. Regard everything. Everywhere you look, there's only pain, hopelessness, fight, hatred and death... That can't possibly be what you want..." She spat blood, but continued speaking: "And it's not what everybody else wants either. Together we could stop this, but you are obsessed with the conception of a world that will never exist. Because no matter how this war ends, there will always be rebels who are willing to take up the fight again."

Gently she put her hand on his upper arm and as she did so, he suddenly saw images in his inner eye. Images in which he kissed and loved a woman passionately. Sometimes it was soft, sometimes wild and then again sometimes in a reserved manner. A shudder ran down his scratched back. He saw himself sitting in an armchair, laughing at her in an amused way, as she stumbled over something lying on the floor and landed on his lap. She blushed deeply and they shared a tender kiss. Soon she was closing her eyes, showing just how she enjoyed it; just like he did as well. He had a sparkle in his eyes that he had only seen on people that were truly happy.

Happy...

True happiness is something very rare. It was not granted to every human to find it, but he seemed to be one of the few exceptions. And this woman was exactly the one he had seen. Standing there in front him and trying to bring him to his senses. Suddenly her legs gave away and she fell forward. To him, _onto_ him. It was a sheer reflex as he caught her and closed his arms around her tender waist. He could feel her responding weakly, embracing him back. Whether she did it to prevent herself from falling or because of affection, he could not tell; but to him it didn't matter at all.

x-x-x-x-x

_Dark wings they are descending_

_See shadows gathering around_

_One by one they are falling_

_Every time they try to strike us down_

x-x-x-x-x

Firmly he pressed her to his body, his tight embrace almost crushing her. It was an indication of goodwill to have Hermione with him. He didn't want to let her go again. He was a Malfoy and a Malfoy never lost what belonged to him.

But suddenly he came to his senses again. Knew why he was here; why they were here. He pushed her away. "Stop it..." he breathed. "Let me go..." And as that did not break her amazingly firm grasp, he started to use force to keep her away from himself. She brought back memories, memories, which he had always considered long forgotten.

That, what had been between them, had been more than wrong. It had never felt right and now he finally understood why: She was good and he was bad. It was a cliché, yes, but every cliché-like experience was followed by a bitter truth. A relationship like that could never end well; could never be forever. He could see her stumbling back, stroked down by one of his punches. With pure fear in her beautiful eyes, Hermione looked up to him.

"That is not you... That is not you... _That is not you_..." she said again and again.

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up!" he shouted. "How should YOU know, who I really am? What gives you the idea that you could know that? Tell me, Granger, how should you know?" Hermione just kept staring at him, completely frightened. "Go on, tell me! How should YOU know, when I don't even know the answer myself! ... Who I am and what I really want... The only thing I know is that I finally want it to come to an end!"

Hermione was silent, let the murmured words affect. Then she said: "In that case: End it."

x-x-x-x-x

_Don't you die on me_

_You haven't made your peace_

_Live life, breathe, breathe_

_Don't you die on me_

_You haven't made your peace_

_Live life, breathe, breathe_

x-x-x-x-x

Seconds passed. Seconds, in which he did not move. Even the war seemed to stop. "I will ... But not in that way of which you probably think I will, _Hermione_..."

He lifted his wand again and pointed it directly towards at the brunette. His look showed so much: Determination, but also uncertainty, pain, hopelessness and a despair that was probably worse than everything else. Draco knew what he had to do. Only two words, after all. Six syllables and it wouldn't be the first time he spoke them. So what kept him from saying them again?

Draco's hand trembled and he felt something damp emerging his eyes. Were they tears of mourning? Tears of loss? Or were the tears simply caused by the strong wind that kept blowing into his face? Oh no! What did he think? Malfoys did not cry. Never! How often had his father told him that? He had had to learn it in a painful way, but nevertheless his heart kept opposing again and again.

The woman opposite to him didn't move, waited for him to act. Was it hope that kept flashing into her eyes as he hesitated or was it compassion? Desperation? Trust? And when, bloody Merlin, had he sunk so deeply that he started to read emotions out of someone's eyes? He shook the head. How stupid he was...

"Please... Draco... Put your wand aside..." she croaked.

"Shut up!" he hissed. What should he do? Why did he have doubts? Why did he fear that he could regret these two lethal words? Why hadn't he already killed her? Out of the corner of his eye he could see how she wanted to reach for her own wand. He could not permit that! Permit her to use it for … Merlin knows what!

"Avada Kedavra!" Draco said without further consideration. That had not been what he had wanted to say. It had simply slipped out of his mouth. Hermione's eyes opened wide in surprise as the green lightning came up to her. She had not expected that he would really do it. The curse struck on her chest and a strange sound escaped from her throat. She didn't feel much. It was even a pleasant feeling. Warmth flooded trough her, then she tilted to the side. Hermione Granger was dead. Killed by the one person from that she knew how deeply he was in love with her…

x-x-x-x-x

_As they took your soul away_

_The night turned into the day_

_Blinded by your rays of life_

_Gave us the strength we needed_

x-x-x-x-x

Draco, on his knees, crawled to the lifeless woman and shook her. But Hermione did not open her hazel eyes. Her last breath of life had already left her. She was dead. Dead! He couldn't believe it. She had died, died by his own hand! It must be a joke! She was too young to die. She had had her whole life to live. A life with him was everything that she had ever wanted. And nevertheless she had died.

She had had her dreams and hopes. There had been many goals she had wanted to reach, especially unreachable ones. Hermione had had Draco and that was one of the things that she had wanted, but which should forever lie out of her each. And so it happened the way as it had been bound to happen: She had lost him again much sooner than she had actually realized. _But I lost much more than you did, _he thought,_ because I lost you... Now I have lost everything. You would have managed to loose me, but I will never cope with having lost you_...

Day turned into night and the battle was over. Many wizards lay lifelessly on the ground, but he cared for nobody but Hermione Granger. There would be another battle as this one had ended in a drawn. The Death Eaters and Voldemort had fled, cowardly as they were. But the white side had lost one of their most powerful: Albus Dumbledore. In a duel against Voldemort he had died out of inattentiveness. Only Harry Potter could save the magical world and HE was just the one that emerged now from behind Draco.

Harry tried to push the Slytherin aside, but couldn't move him away from Hermione. "Malfoy, let Hermione rest in peace!" he said coldly. Harry seemed to act impressively calm and Draco began to admire him. More than that: He started to have respect for the man with the scar in form of a lightning.

Again, Harry tried to get him away from Hermione, but the more firmly he pulled, the more firmly Draco clasped to the body of the young woman. Only with the assistance of other aurors, Harry finally managed to separate them. They carried Hermione back to the castle and didn't waste another thought for on Draco. As the aurors had left, only Harry and Draco were still present.

"Kill me, Harry Potter, please kill me!"

Harry stiffened. Not only that a Malfoy asked for something, no, he asked for his own death! But Harry shook his head. "No, Malfoy, you will live until you'll finally die old and grey. You pass the rest of your long life in Askaban and will despair of the fact you killed the only person that you have ever loved from deep inside your heart..."

Then Harry left him.

x-x-x-x-x

_Dark wings they are descending_

_See shadows gathering around_

_One by one they are falling_

_Every time they try to strike us down_

_Dark wings they are descending_

_See shadows gathering around_

_One by one they are falling_

_Every time they try to strike us down_

x-x-x-x-x

As they wanted to "collect" the remaining corpses, Draco Malfoy was found among them. Suffocated by his own will as he couldn't stand the thought of living in dishonour to the end of his days. He preferred living on in the hereafter- with Hermione. She would accept him again, because even in death their love would go on.

Harry smiled a bitter smile. _Farewell, Malfoy. If not in this world, then make Hermione at least happy in the next one... _Harry would never forget them. He wouldn't forget any of those that had been killed in action that day, but Hermione and Draco less than anybody else. They had found each other in a sad world, had loved each other and fathered a child. But Draco would never know that Hermione and him had a little daughter. She had wanted to tell him, but the war intervened. He was cheated of the knowledge of his daughter's existence, but Hermione would surely tell him in the world of light.

Natalia...

Harry would educate her and would guard her, like she was his own, as she was the only legacy of his best friend and his enemy...

**The End**

_Well, what do you think about it? -expectant- _

_Well, love is the feeling that you feel, when you feel the feeling that you never felt before (unknown). _

_Best wishes_

_Dia_

_Please do not forget to review! -puppy eyes-_


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